This week I decided I wanted to research what resources are already available for the public regarding gardening. I wanted to look for resources that would benefit the students who would use the App.

The first site I found, by searching on Pinterest, was the Southeastern African-American Farmers Organic Network or SAAFON. The site is very interesting. It talks about getting more African-American organic farms established. Before their meeting in 2006 there were no African-American certified organic farms in the South East.

Not all students using the App would be able to be members of this site if they began their own farm, but it is a great resource for minority students! Students could potentially interview the farmers for tips and encouragement!

The next resource I found, also on Pinterest, is the Green Acre Aquaponics company. This is exactly the kind of resource I was looking for! Using different methods to achieve the best, most natural form of nutrients for farming is my favorite thing about farming. The earth has been doing this since the beginning and why should we do anything differently? Fish secrete nutrients in the water that can be cycled into the plants to provide all the nutrients necessary for great produce! The company offers tours and sessions on learning how to properly install your own pond and garden for personal use! The garden is in Florida, so it may not be the best for a day trip for all teachers. But a group of teachers could go over a weekend and teach their students for years to come!

The basic method I continue to see is a basic one, created by nature. It is a cycle and no piece goes to waste. First worms are grown. They are grown in a compost pile. The worms are fed to the fish in a tank. The tank of water is cycled into the plants. The plants soak up the nutrients from the dirty water, which is cleaned by the plants and some gravel then the water is pumped back into the fish tank. What about the compost pile? To successfully grow a plant requires pruning, pinching off excess fruits, dead leaves, or disposing of a dead plant. Instead of disposing of these pieces in the trash can or even compost pile, these waste pieces can be poured into the worm tank. Nothing here ever goes to waste!

All of this is great and all, but what about the main part of my idea, the app? Where does the benefit for students fit in to all of this? I want students to be able to communicate with everyone, their teachers, their classmates, people all over the world about their ideas and share their data. I want students to learn how to care for their environment. Hopefully I can come up with an idea that can actually be put into place.

Hopefully I can find more resources soon.

Driving Question

Driving Question:

How can I incorporate technology to teach students how to grow things in a sustainable fashion?

Basically I am interested in teaching students how to grow their own food and have them realize why local, fresh food is important. I would love to incorporate this into their seventh grade biology class. I will be including technology as the place students record their data. Then, the data can be shared between students, classes, and even schools.

A lot of students in Athens are from low SES backgrounds, which does not give them a great start. They are statistically vulnerable for being overweight, teen pregnancy, having a lack of motivation just to name a few risks. My hope is enlightening them about what to eat and how processed foods can really harm their bodies, I can improve their chances at the risks for the future.

Technology will be incorporated as an outlet for students to share their ideas and data. Students can communicate with other students to learn, to put it simply, gardening. It sounds simple, and it is. Simplicity is where we should be going, but a new simplicity. I want students to be free to do what they want in the classroom. What do they think will be good for them to know? How can we get students motivated to learn the material for standardized tests? How can we teach in the most efficient and effective way for each student?

TED Talk

After I watched this video, I was able to get a clearer picture of something to aspire to in a class. I want to incorporate more technology than Stephen has, but I want my students to be able to get to the same points.

I also watched Arthur Potts Dawson's video. He discussed waste in the food industry. Studying waste and how to decrease it would be very interesting to incorporate in this class. Allowing students to research why we should make less waste so they can make their own conclusions on the topic. Then getting students to create ways to lesson their carbon foot print would be wonderful!

Michael Pawlyn has wonderful ideas on how to look at nature for our answers. Instead of trying to out do nature.

All of these Ted talks are just the first part of my research for my hopeful 20% project.